So I was thinking, I want to upgrade my GPU, but I feel like getting a 6970 wouldn't be smart because I have a 6850, and if I got another one, then overclocked them both they'd hold up for a good bit of time and save me 150~ ish, and I could just wait until something like the 7970 or the 8xxx series drops in price and I can get one in a year or two. But it's just when it comes to crossfiring I'm really worried about microstuttering because I'd be totally distraught if that showed up in my games because I'm OCD as fuck. I also hear it's a real common problem thats really hard to fix, so that has me worried. Your thoughts?

I was never gonna get Ivy Bridge? Also, I'd love a 7970 but 500 bucks is just too steep right now I think. I mean, I can play most of my new games near max settings with like 25-40 FPS, so I just couldn't justify 500 bucks at the moment.

I don't know how much credence you give to TH, but they have a rule of thumb regarding how far is worth upgrading. Also, rumors about Kepler promise GTX580 performance for mid- $300 range. At the very least, AMD will have to lower its prices to compete, so I'd say you would be better off waiting the two months until release.

EDIT:

Actually, according to that chart I linked you, the 6970 or the second 6850 would both be noticeable upgrades, with the Crossfire solution obviously being better value. Whether you want to deal with a multi card setup is your call.

If this helps, I sort of regret getting the 6950 instead of two cheaper 6870's as my friend did. The price hasn't really dropped for the entire year I've had this GPU, yet the 6870 has. After looking at some GPU benchmarks, there seems to be only about a 10% different in performance, and while he (my friend) has two for about $100 more than my single 6950, he has about twice the performance of my rig. If I want another 6950, it'd cost me around $300 (price almost unchanged from initial price). I didn't notice any microstuttering on his rig, so I'd definitely consider going for another 6850 if you want it that much.